In a known apparatus for binding pages on a metal binder the pages have holes punched along one edge. An open wire binder of curved cross section has one edge slid into an elongate slot to support the binder. The pages are then fed over the hooks presented by the other edge of the binder to be supported by the binder. Then the assembly of the binder and pages is slid carefully out of the slot to ensure that the pages remain attached with the binder being located in an outwardly facing channel. When locating the binder, the open edges of the binder must be manoeuvred such that they face away from the now horizontal pages and the binder must be held in that position. This procedure is time consuming and can result in pages coming off the binder during the manoeuvring of the assembly. Then the upper face of the channel is driven downwardly to decrease the height of the channel and to bend the binder into a closed position such that the free edges of the binder are brought towards each other and lie in the same axial extent.
It is difficult to ensure that the correct edges of the binder are brought into the correct position in the channel and it is often the case that the binder takes up a non-circular, non-desirable shape as a result of one free edge of the binder being closer to the top or bottom of the channel that the other edge is to its associated part of the channel.
Furthermore the binder has to be held in the channel before the crushing action commences, which is a difficult task for an operator who must also operate a mechanism to close the channel.
It is an object of the present invention to attempt to overcome at least some of these disadvantages.